Pages

Saturday, December 30, 2017

I love the look of encaustics and have always thought that the effect would lend itself well to my work. But the lack of ventilation and space in my NYC apartment, the expense of adding yet another group of art supplies, and the extra time and effort the process requires have always put me off.

Friday, December 29, 2017

December is always a time of reflection for me. At the end of the last four years, I have looked back over the previous year's blog posts to see which were the most popular based on hits. This not only lets me work toward creating a better blog but helps me to take the pulse of the art community. If you want to look back, click here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015, and here for 2016.

As in years past, my top posts revolve mostly around giveaways, video workshops, art products and new product releases, collaborative art projects and postings, artist issues and trend watching.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

End of the year. Brings on reminiscing and reflection. Time for the "best of" lists in every area imaginable: TV, movies, records (does anybody still call them that?), and more.

How about blog posts? Today I am sharing a post that highlights bloggers' best. Each of these creative bloggers has shared their most popular post from 2017. Sit back, get comfortable and start clicking...

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

As we end 2017, I was curious as to what artists in our online community were expecting to be big in the upcoming year. In an informal, completely non-quantitative, random survey, I asked people what one trend they thought would be big in 2018. Although everybody had their unique opinion, it was fascinating to see that there was quite a good deal of overlap in predictions.

1. Roots. No, not the ones underground, but our origins. There was a strong theme related to "rekindling the love and passion of our roots." Whether that was a general idea or related to a specific art domain, it seems that people want to be in touch with all things handmade, non-commercial, and traditional.

2. Mixed Media. While mixed media is an art movement that goes back to the early 20th century, mixed media as we know it today is hot and getting hotter. Whether it is blending media, layering, combining found objects with commercial products, mixing fibers and paper, or other approaches, mixed media was on the mind of many of the artists who shared their trend predictions.

3. Fine Art Mediums. There has been a steady increase in recent years in the embrace of traditional, fine art mediums within the mixed media and craft worlds. This appears to be continuing with many people noting watercolor paints, portraiture, encaustics, drawing, color mixing, and referencing the color wheel as continuing and coming trends.

4. Nature. All things natural appear to be on the horizon. Think raw surfaces, such as wood, stone, tile and brick, metallics, eco dyeing, water themes, all-things rust, and botanicals.

5. Imperfection. Artists seem to be more and more comfortable embracing the imperfect and it looks like this trend will continue into 2018. Whether patchwork in textile arts, nonrealistic faces in portraiture, or repurposed and up cycled materials, imperfection is the perfect trend.

6. Paint. Paint seems to be the art supply of choice for 2018. Whether watercolors, acrylics or the hot trend of acrylic pouring, paint is definitely our passion.

8. Text. Text-based art will continue to be big in 2018. Handwritten and creative lettering, asemic writing, journaling, and using text for story telling are likely to be seen everywhere in the coming year.

9. Journaling. The trend that keeps on giving. Journaling has not yet peaked and will continue strong next year. In recent years, a variety of approaches to journaling led the way. In 2018, bullet journaling and creating your own handmade journals seem to be in the lead.

10. Artivism. An historic trend that seems to reflect the times, creating art and craft for the purpose of political expression, activism, and protest has returned in a big way in 2017 and looks to continue into 2018.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Baked Texture is here. Today is the day that pre-orders begin for my new line of embossing powders for artists from Emerald Creek Craft Supplies. Head to my online shop to purchase today, with items shipping in January.

These are not your grandma's embossing powders. Think artisan blends, surfaces that range from gritty and rough to shiny and reflective, textures that run from chunky to smooth, opacity running from translucent to fully opaque, layers and dimension for your mixed media artwork, and upcoming tutorials to show you unique and non-traditional ways to use these powders.

My first release consists of seven unique blends.

PATINA OXIDE

ANCIENT AMBER

DEEP SEA

VINTAGE BEESWAX

ROCKY ROAD

DIRTY SAND

CHUNKY RUST

And by making your own custom blends of color, you extend the creative use of these powders.

Baked Texture will be available in both online shops and brick & mortar stores worldwide. A full list of vendors stocking these powders will be posted in January. If you are a sales site and are interested in carrying this line, email me for more information. Those of you attending Creativation, the annual trade show for the Association for Creative Industries (AFCI) in Phoenix, can stop by Emerald Creek's booth #1454 to see it in action. You can also head to Emerald Creek's website to see their full range of embossing powders.